Let It Steep
by Soomin
Summary: As competent as Ace was, no one on this Earth would look at Portgas D. Ace and think, "He would make a great barista." As Sabo learns, among other things about his brothers, neither did Ace or Makino who gave him the job. A part of the Three Cream, Two Sugar, a Slug of Lead universe.


Technically, and this was a technicality that even Sabo couldn't find a way out of, Ace was the oldest out of three of them. Even though it was only by two and a half months, even though Sabo was taller, even though Sabo was a skilled killer (though admittedly, Ace could carry his own against him), Ace never missed an opportunity to flaunt it and use it to his advantage. It was rare for him to pull rank on his division among the Whitebeards, but it was almost natural for him to do so with his brothers.

As a result, when Ace requested (ordered in Sabo's opinion) for him to cover his shift for a few hours while he hunted down an officer who had the unfortunate luck of hurting a member of his division, Sabo had no choice to accept. It was either decline and face the punishment of the "older" brother while teaching the younger brother that it was okay to rebel, or accept and allow the status quo to continue as it has been for the last few months. Luckily, Ace managed to catch the manager as well, so Sabo wouldn't be caught too out of his league if a customer asked for anything beyond the average coffee.

Makino, the manager, was a sweet lady. He had heard endless stories from Luffy about how Makino was skilled in not only cooking, cleaning, sewing, but she was also a fantastic teacher who was responsible in drilling manners into his knucklehead of an "older" brother. She knew Luffy all of his life, and knew Ace for about five years through Luffy. In that time, the two brothers warmed considerably to the woman, and Sabo would be lying if he wasn't warming up to her as well.

In between customers, Makino told him all kinds of stories of his two brothers. She told him of a time when their grandfather (who was Garp the Fist of all people) came home one day, and Luffy finally took a stand and told his grandfather that he wasn't going to be a part of the police force. She told another story where Ace had come to her out of the blue for etiquette lessons, and while it didn't always show, Ace had come a long way from when he first began.

"When I asked him to show me what he already knew, he just outright said to me 'Let's get this shit started,'" Makino laughed.

Sabo chuckled and smiled and his brother's antics. They were certainly a handful when they were younger, and while he enjoyed hearing stories about his new brothers, Sabo did have one question for the manager.

"Why possessed you to make Ace a barista?" Sabo asked.

Portgas D. Ace was not incompetent. If his brother put his head to the task, Ace could solve any puzzle (even though half the time he just used his brute strength to get through it). He could brew the perfect cup of coffee, help Luffy with most of his homework, and still find a way to escape the police force no matter how many men they bring to the scene. However, when a normal person looked at Ace, especially on days when he thought shirts were too annoying and flaunted his tattoos, the immediate thought should not be, "He would be a great barista."

Makino was caught off guard by the sudden question, but she simply laughed off the surprise and smiled.

"When Luffy was young, I would often treat him to meals at my café. Even though it didn't put a dent into my wallet, Luffy was always insistent to put the cost of the meal on his 'Treasure Tab'. That tab went on for ten years, and when Ace heard about it, he immediately apologized for leaving such a large debt. In return, Ace offered to work here for free to pay it off. I was short-staffed, and Ace wouldn't stop begging more for the position, so I decided to give him a chance," Makino explained with a nostalgic smile. "Ace was really bad at his job at first, but he eventually got the hang of it. He knows how to brew all of the coffees from memory, cooks most of the sandwiches, and when he has some downtime, he creates his own brews, which I'm sure you're familiar with."

Sabo smiled to that statement. Makino, lost in a memory, laughed as she remembered something.

"There was this one time where Ace just completely forgot how to make mocha latté and just gave the customer a cup of chocolate milk instead, insisting they were the same thing. The next thing I knew, the customer was up in the rafters, and Ace was already helping another customer. This place has seen a fair number of fights, being in the center of most gang activity, but nothing too destructive. Plus, most gangs around here know not to mess around here for the most part," Makino smiled at another memory that was bubbling in her mind.

Sabo sat there watching the manager smile as she walked through what he knew was years and years of memories. Sabo had only knew the brothers for two years, and yet none of them discussed the past. The brothers lived life without regrets, and Sabo was beginning to do the same. With that said, it wasn't like any of them lived a life filled with bread and honey. Despite being brothers, Sabo was saddened by the fact that he really didn't know his brothers at all. Not to mention, Sabo knew that they were keeping more secrets from him, just like how he was keeping some from them.

"Makino," the manager looked at Sabo with curious eyes, "Ace and Luffy told me that they want to live free. Is there a reason why they haven't left this town yet?" While Sabo could tell that his brothers loved their home and the people in it very much, it was evident that the two of them were itching for adventure. However, Sabo could not figure out what was tying them down.

Makino looked uncomfortable. "That's a story your brothers are going to have to tell you," she answered simply.

Before Sabo could dig further, the front door rang and an out-of-breath Ace began striding toward them to take a seat. With a simple look at Ace's expression, Sabo knew that the idiot who dared go against Whitebeard got what he deserved.

Sabo was surprised to hear that Ace and Luffy had never killed another man before. Being in the gang world, it was hard to keep hands clean. Even so, Sabo was glad that that his brothers weren't like him. It was people like his brothers and Makino that gave Sabo reason to fight the government. If it meant keeping their hands clean, Sabo wouldn't mind dyeing his own red.

"Sabo, there's another reason why I keep Ace around the shop," Makino whispered into Sabo's ear. Curiously, he turned toward her and could only stretch an eyebrow when she winked at him. With his brother here and Makino clearly obstinate in not telling Sabo what he wanted to know, he decided to let it be a story for another day.

"Ugh! Man, just when I was just about ready to knock him home too, an entire feet of guys just came down my alleyway," Ace complained as he brought his uniform from his sack.

"What? Couldn't a few officiers?" Sabo teased, walking over to his brother on the other side of the bar. Ace flicked the blond on the head in response.

"I distinctly recall the last score currently being 51-49, victor Portgas Ace, Sabo," Ace retorted with a smug smile as he tied the apron from behind his back.

"That last fight was a fluke, and you know it," Sabo argued, but smiled. It had been a long time since he had a good fighting partner, and even if Ace could fight dirty, he wasn't going to let that be an excuse when he shows Ace who's boss.

"Ace, it's almost that time," Makino reminded as she walked into the kitchen.

"Already?" Ace said as he observed the clock behind him. Cursing to himself, he put on his hat and hopped across the bar in a single hop.

"What time is it?" Sabo asked as he walked around the bar.

"You're never here this late, so you never experienced it, but for whatever reason, at around six, a whole bunch of people come in," Ace explained. "And it's only when I work too. None of the other employees say that the worst time is after six o'clock. It kind of sucks too because that's around the time Luffy finishes most of his classes too, so I can't meet him outside of school anymore."

Sabo glanced at Makino, gears turning as he tried to figure out the riddle Makino had given him. Obviously Ace was the reason for the sudden rush of customers, but why-

"Um, I'll have a mocha cappuccino please," a small voice ordered from beside Sabo. It was a young girl, around Luffy's age he would have to say, wearing makeup that really accented her eyes and cheeks. He looked at Ace who simply pulled up a cup and smiled.

At that point, Sabo really did have to compliment Makino for her business strategy. He glanced at the manger who simply smiled knowingly.

"And your name?"

"J-Jessica," she stuttered out as Ace's smile seemed to have stopped her vocal chords. Oh Sabo was going to enjoy this. Girls began to flow into the story at a steady rate. Some took seats at the tables as they talked and stole glances at his brother. Others took the more direct approach and actually did order something the moment they walked through the doors.

Sabo's favorite was when a girl insisted that Ace had gotten the drink wrong and that it was too hot. Frustrated at himself, Ace stole the drink from the girl's hand and tasted it himself. He stared at the cup as if it was responsible for all of Earth's evil.

"I'm sorry, it does seem a little too bitter. Do you want me to brew you another cup?" Ace asked, his face apologetic.

"N-no! It's fine. I don't want you to go through all that trouble. I-I just wanted to make sure I wasn't just allergic to the coffee!" she blurted out, took the cup from Ace's hand and went over to the table filled with girls with both jealous and impressed looks. Ace, completely oblivious as to what had happened, still stared at his hand that was currently missing the cup of coffee, and muttered to himself about adding more sugar to one of his custom brews.

"Oi! Ace!" Luffy's voice called out. More girls chattered about the newcomer, and Sabo heard whispers of a Nami, Robin, and strangely Boa Hancock. Wasn't she a little old to be associating with his little brother? Then again, Brook seemed to be one of Luffy's friend as well, so there goes that worry.

"Hey Luffy! Look, I got Sabo here too!" Ace waved with a huge grin, and Sabo swear he saw a few girls faint in the smile's presence.

"Sabo! Nossa!" Luffy exclaimed as he jumped into Sabo's lap despite a free chair right next to him.

At this point, Sabo was used to the sudden weight landing onto him, and he was glad for it. It wouldn't do for his image if a large group of people just saw him fall flat on his face while his two brother laughed at him. There's no doubt that word would get to Koala, and he wouldn't be able to bare another month of jibes shot at him.

"Luffy, one of these days I'm not going to catch you," Sabo warned, his arms automatically going around his brother's back to support him.

"As if. You're so soft Sabo. You're practically cradling him. You wouldn't let a thing happen to Luffy," Ace commented, a smirk on his face as he took another girl's order.

"Uh huh," Sabo gave the barista a skeptical look. "And what about this?" Sabo grabbed his phone from his pocket to show him his wallpaper.

"W-why the hell is that your wallpaper?" Ace said, his face red from seeing it. The girls in line began blushing at the picture as well. Three of them walked out from line and began talking to each other about something.

"It's cute," Sabo replied, his smile growing as he looked at the picture himself. "Aww Ace, you even let Luffy sleep on top of you even though you know he drools like a fountain. I didn't think you'll be a cuddling type of person."

"Shut up!" Ace screamed, resisting the urge to give Sabo another burn. The blond laughed, and Luffy grabbed the phone from his hand.

"Hey! Where are you in this picture Sabo? I remember you holding on to the both of us when I woke up," Luffy asked.

"Is that so?" Ace asked, a devious smirk crawling on his face. Sabo tried his best to cover Luffy's mouth, but the boy continued to speak.

"Mm! Makino showed it to me when she came over to make us dinner that night," Luffy answered, as Makino looked the other way. However, Sabo saw that smile on her face.

As Ace went into the kitchen to beg Makino to send him the picture, Sabo returned to focusing on his surroundings. One thing he realized with his brothers was that his guard was dropped far too much for his liking. In order to make up for it, he found out that Luffy and Ace were able to entertain themselves them if he just provoked Ace a bit. This gave him time to refocus himself in intervals to analyze the situation. After all, rarely do things happen spontaneously and without warning.

However, when he saw the girls all whispering to each other, he wished that he had chosen a different moment to refocus himself.

"Ace is gay?"

"I thought that Luffy was his brother?"

"I've heard that they're technically not blood-related."

"But he was with that Nico Robin earlier."

"That was just a rumor! But maybe he's bi then? Or maybe he's pan or something."

"What about the other one. He seems to really like Luffy too."

"An open relationship?"

Sabo could feel the heat return to his face. It was true that their relationship was bit more affectionate than what brothers should act as in this age. They still slept together, took showers at the same tie, and they all gave the occasional peck on the cheek when they were happy or proud. However, those were just acts of love, and nothing more.

"Woah! Sabo!" Luffy yelled. Sabo cursed and quickly adjusted his grip to prevent the boy from slipping. Sabo sometimes swore that the boy was made out of rubber.

"You have to be more careful Luffy. I don't want to drop you," Sabo warned, a frown growing on his face.

To his surprise, Luffy simply began laughing. "Sabo won't drop me," he said resolutely, and immediately turned to order Ace to make him something to eat.

It was a simple statement, but it weighed a lot in Sabo's mind. He couldn't help but smile.

"Of course," he whispered as he held Luffy closer and called out to Ace to make him something too.

They weren't lovers, but it dove deeper than brothers. The term soulmates came to mind, but Sabo didn't pay much attention to it. As Sabo placed his head on top of Luffy's, he decided that what they were really didn't matter. As long as they were together, Sabo would be happy with anything.

* * *

 **A/N:** **This has basically become my platform for just ASL fluff, and I am not ashamed to admit this. XD**

 **I honestly had no clue why Ace became the barista in this story. In all honesty, it was either him or Luffy, and we all know what would happen if Luffy was anywhere near a kitchen. However, in my head, I think Ace would be a little celebrity in their little town.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


End file.
